Latest news with #AnnyaBurksys
New York Post
25-06-2025
- New York Post
Singles are using AI to pressure naive victims to send them nudes: ‘If something doesn't feel right, speak up'
Students are being warned: Swipe right and you might get blackmailed. Creeps posing as flirty singles on dating apps are duping victims — especially students — into sending X-rated pics, only to turn around and demand cash, say UK fraud experts. As reported by BBC, Annya Burksys, head of fraud at Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, called the AI-aided scams 'efficient and unrelenting.' She warned that 'sextortion' schemes have become 'commonplace' among students. Sextortion, the shady tactic, uses bots or fake profiles to woo victims into sharing intimate images — and then threatens to leak them unless a ransom is paid. 3 Sextortion 101: Slick bots and phony flirts sweet-talk victims into sending steamy snaps — then hold the goods hostage for cash. Prostock-studio – Tracking these lowlifes isn't easy — most cases vanish without a trace or never get reported at all. Still, a Nationwide survey found 28% of students have already been duped, and half are sweating they'll be next. 3 These digital villains are tough to trace — most vanish without a peep or never get reported. Still, a Nationwide poll found 28% of students have been hit, and half fear they're next in the scammers' sights. Pixel-Shot – As per the BBC, Jim Winters, economic crime head at Nationwide, warned Gen Z students to keep their clothes — and their camera rolls — on lock, especially when chatting up strangers online. 'Blackmail is one of the hardest things to face and it's happening more often. It's not easy but if something doesn't feel right, speak up,' he warned. Winters acknowledged it might be tempting to hit send in the heat of the moment — but once that pic is out there, he warned, you've lost control for good. Winters laid out some street-smart tips for spotting a digital con: Watch for wonky phrases that don't match what you've said — classic bot behavior. You can also run profile pics through a reverse image search to sniff out stock photo imposters. And if something feels off, don't go it alone or 'suffer in silence,' he said — show the messages to a friend before things spiral. Above all, if you're being blackmailed, he advises not to stay quiet — but to report it and get help. As The Post reported last month, four West African creeps were busted in a vile 'sextortion' scheme that led to a California teen's tragic death, the DOJ said. 3 Experts dropped some streetwise wisdom for spotting a scam: If the convo's full of weird phrases that don't line up with what you said, you're probably flirting with a bot. Getty Images/iStockphoto 17-year-old Ryan Last, a high school senior, took his own life in 2022 — just hours after sending nudes to a scammer posing as a flirty 20-something woman who then threatened to expose him if he didn't cough up the cash. Last's heartbreaking death lit the fuse on a global manhunt — unraveling a twisted sextortion ring that preyed on 'thousands of victims,' including kids, across the US, Canada, the UK, France, Spain and Italy, feds said. So before you bare all for that too-good-to-be-true hottie online — ask yourself: is it love, or just a lurid scam with a sinister script?
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Yahoo
Blackmail victims told 'don't suffer in silence'
Students are being urged not to suffer in silence when targeted by scams on dating apps, as investigators see blackmail cases rise. Fraud teams at Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, said trusted friends could help potential victims avoid sending private or intimate images during new online relationships. Anyone who has been scammed should report cases to the authorities, they said. One student in Cardiff told the BBC how a drink in the pub had alerted them to the risk of a friend being tricked by fraudsters using AI technology. Last year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) put out its first ever all-school alert, warning teenagers about the dangers of sextortion. Sextortion is when criminals pose as young people online, trick a victim into sending sexually explicit material, and then blackmail them. Annya Burksys, head of fraud operations at Nationwide, said that scammers were "efficient and unrelenting". As a result, these kinds of scams were "commonplace" among students. Data on such crimes is difficult to gather, as they are recorded in different ways or are never reported at all. A survey by Nationwide suggested 28% of students asked had been scammed, and 50% of students worried about becoming a victim. Last year, BBC News sent a Freedom of Information request to every police force in the UK, asking how many reported blackmail offences featured the word "sextortion" over the last decade. The 33 forces (out of a total of 45) who responded recorded almost 8,000 blackmail cases logged with a reference to sextortion in 2023. The same number of forces recorded just 23 in 2014. All the forces to respond were in England and Wales. On a night out with friends, Emma Evans, a student in Cardiff, was chatting to one of them about his chats on dating apps. He suggested the group look through some of the conversations, but one "particularly attractive and particularly keen" match raised alarm bells. "We looked at this chat and the thing that gave it away was that this person was saying the same words over and over again," Emma told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours. "For example, he kept on saying how he wanted to find someone who is really passionate over and over again, and he wasn't really answering my friend's questions." The group pointed out to their friend that the language seemed to be the speech patterns of an AI chatbot. Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide, urged people not to overshare images, particularly with someone they had never met. "Blackmail is one of the hardest things to face and it's happening more often. It's not easy but if something doesn't feel right, speak up," he said. "It might be tempting in the moment to share information or photos but once shared, you will never have control over it again." He has the following tips: Look out for odd phrases in messages and conversations that do not relate to what you have written Put any profile photos into a search engine and see if they have been used elsewhere, and are stock images If you are unsure about a situation, show the messages to someone else for a second opinion before things go too far Anyone who is being blackmailed should report their case to the authorities, for help and support "Talk to someone you trust, maybe a friend or family member. Don't suffer in silence," he said. As well as targeting young people near the start of their lives, fraudsters have been stepping up their attempts to trick the friends and family of people who have died. Criminals exploit the grief of bereaved families by impersonating them online and charging mourners to see funeral livestreams that should be free, according to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) which supports businesses and local authorities' trading standards officers. These livestreams became more popular during lockdown, and have continued since for those who struggle to attend a funeral in person. Fraudsters contact mourners with bogus links to watch a funeral and demand payment, or set up fake donation pages on legitimate websites. Katherine Hart, CTSI lead officer for doorstep crime, said: "This is a truly despicable scam – targeting people during one of the most emotionally difficult moments of their lives. "It's hard to imagine a more callous form of fraud. What's particularly upsetting is that victims often feel they can't report what's happened for fear of adding further stress to grieving families. "That silence is exactly what these criminals are counting on. We need people to stay vigilant, share warnings and report anything suspicious."
BBC News
21-06-2025
- BBC News
Dating app scam victims told 'don't suffer in silence'
Students are being urged not to suffer in silence when targeted by scams on dating apps, as investigators see blackmail cases teams at Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society, said trusted friends could help potential victims avoid sending private or intimate images during new online relationships. Anyone who has been scammed should report cases to the authorities, they student in Cardiff told the BBC how a drink in the pub had alerted them to the risk of a friend being tricked by fraudsters using AI year, the National Crime Agency (NCA) put out its first ever all-school alert, warning teenagers about the dangers of sextortion. Blackmail warning Sextortion is when criminals pose as young people online, trick a victim into sending sexually explicit material, and then blackmail Burksys, head of fraud operations at Nationwide, said that scammers were "efficient and unrelenting". As a result, these kinds of scams were "commonplace" among on such crimes is difficult to gather, as they are recorded in different ways or are never reported at all. A survey by Nationwide suggested 28% of students asked had been scammed, and 50% of students worried about becoming a year, BBC News sent a Freedom of Information request to every police force in the UK, asking how many reported blackmail offences featured the word "sextortion" over the last 33 forces (out of a total of 45) who responded recorded almost 8,000 blackmail cases logged with a reference to sextortion in 2023. The same number of forces recorded just 23 in 2014. All the forces to respond were in England and Wales. 'You're talking to a bot' On a night out with friends, Emma Evans, a student in Cardiff, was chatting to one of them about his chats on dating suggested the group look through some of the conversations, but one "particularly attractive and particularly keen" match raised alarm bells."We looked at this chat and the thing that gave it away was that this person was saying the same words over and over again," Emma told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours."For example, he kept on saying how he wanted to find someone who is really passionate over and over again, and he wasn't really answering my friend's questions."The group pointed out to their friend that the language seemed to be the speech patterns of an AI chatbot. Talk to a friend Jim Winters, head of economic crime at Nationwide, urged people not to overshare images, particularly with someone they had never met."Blackmail is one of the hardest things to face and it's happening more often. It's not easy but if something doesn't feel right, speak up," he said. "It might be tempting in the moment to share information or photos but once shared, you will never have control over it again."He has the following tips:Look out for odd phrases in messages and conversations that do not relate to what you have writtenPut any profile photos into a search engine and see if they have been used elsewhere, and are stock imagesIf you are unsure about a situation, show the messages to someone else for a second opinion before things go too farAnyone who is being blackmailed should report their case to the authorities, for help and support"Talk to someone you trust, maybe a friend or family member. Don't suffer in silence," he said. Exploiting grief As well as targeting young people near the start of their lives, fraudsters have been stepping up their attempts to trick the friends and family of people who have exploit the grief of bereaved families by impersonating them online and charging mourners to see funeral livestreams that should be free, according to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) which supports businesses and local authorities' trading standards livestreams became more popular during lockdown, and have continued since for those who struggle to attend a funeral in contact mourners with bogus links to watch a funeral and demand payment, or set up fake donation pages on legitimate Hart, CTSI lead officer for doorstep crime, said: "This is a truly despicable scam – targeting people during one of the most emotionally difficult moments of their lives. "It's hard to imagine a more callous form of fraud. What's particularly upsetting is that victims often feel they can't report what's happened for fear of adding further stress to grieving families. "That silence is exactly what these criminals are counting on. We need people to stay vigilant, share warnings and report anything suspicious."
